It is known in the art that stretching of the back can provide relief from back pain, particularly in the lower or lumbar region of the spine. Also, it is known that such stretching may have a therapeutic, as well as pain relieving function, for certain back injuries to the lumbar region of the spine, as well as certain congenital spinal maladies, e.g., scoliosis.
In the past it has been common to stretch the spine by exerting opposing forces on the body at locations of the body above and below the lumbar region. For example, orthopedic tables are known which provide for attachment of the shoulder or chest region of the patient to one portion of the table movable with respect to the other portion of the table, to which the hips, thighs or lower legs of the patient are attached. Stretching of the spine is accomplished in a cyclical fashion by movement of the movable portion of the table with respect to a static portion of the table, or moving both portions of the table in opposite directions at the same time, while periodically reversing the motion to relieve the tension created on the lumbar region of the spine.
It has also been common in the art to exert opposing forces on portions of the body above and below the lumbar region, both for back support, pain relief and therapeutic purposes. Examples of such devices can be seen in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,722,205 to Freund; 2,835,247 to Stabholc; 2,687,129 to Talkish; 3,799,156 to Gurkin; and 3,889,664 to Heuser et al.
It is further known as common in the art to provide devices for prophylactic purposes which reduce forces or loads other than body weight on the lumbrosacral area by transmitting part of the load through the pelvic and infrapelvic structure to the floor. Examples of such devices can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,211,219 to Alvey and 1,384,299 to Brown.
In addition, it has been known to suspend the human body above the floor, either hanging from the feet or ankles or hanging from the underarms or rib cage area, utilizing the force of gravity in order to stretch the lower spine.
The stretching tables and suspending devices require that the patient dedicate a certain time for therapy in which other activity is substantially proscribed. In addition, such therapy normally occurs at the office of a doctor or physical therapist, unless the patient can afford to, and has the space to, install expensive and/or bulky equipment in the home.
The form of apparatus for stretching or bracing which involves exerting force on two areas of the body above and below the lumbar spinal region, to force those two areas away from each other, also suffers from a number of inadequacies. Such braces, as can be seen from the art, are relatively bulky and can be quite uncomfortable to the wearer, exerting as they do, force on two different body areas to stretch the spine. In addition, the static stretching, once the brace is adjusted to exert a certain force between the two areas of attachment to the body, remains essentially constant unless and until the brace is readjusted.
It is known that the cyclical stretching of the spine can be more beneficial, thus the desirability of the use of, e.g., stretching tables as noted above, which have, however, the inconveniences noted above. It is also known that relieving the force of gravity on the spine created by the spine supporting the upper body can be beneficial, as demonstrated by the suspension-type apparatus noted above which also serves to stretch the spine. But, these have the disadvantages noted above. However, such suspension is noted to be very beneficial, at least in relieving back pain, and may be as or more therapeutically beneficial than the static braces and/or the stretching tables.
The problems enumerated in the foregoing description of the prior art are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather are among many which tend to impair the effectiveness of previously-known apparatus for relieving back pain and therapeutically treating back ailments. Other noteworthy problems may also exist; however, those presented above should be sufficient to demonstrate that apparatus for treating back pain and therapeutically treating back ailments appearing in the prior art have not been altogether satisfactory.